Container and method of making same



s sheets-sum 1 INVENTOR I; A TORNEY May 8, 1928;

L.'5TEVENS CONTAINER AND M ETHOD OF MAKING SAME E11 6 May as, '1923 May8, 1928. r V L. STEVENS CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed May28, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 22% l k NEJ I I g 6 3 w J H INVENTOR Z/KzWaA; A TTORNEV May 8, 1928.

1.. STEVENS CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledMay 28. 1923 BY I Patented May 8,

UNITED STATES msLrE STEVENS, or GLEN RIDGE, ivEw JERSEY.

CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

application filed May 28, 1923. Serial 1T0. 641,988.

This invention relates to containers, and to methods of making the same.

The invention aims to provide a seamless and lapless container of greatstrength, suit able for use in making suit cases and other sorts ofbaggage and cases or containers for many other purposes; and a method ofmaking such containers at relatively small cost.

A container embodying the inventionmay be rectangular'in form, having abottom, sides and ends which meet in approximately square corners. Thewalls of the container are of substantially uniform thickness throughoutand are formed of a single piece of loosely wovenfabric stiffened withsizing, or of a number of layers of such pieces.

In accordance with the invention, the container, is formed from thefabric bya stretching and pressing method hereinafter described indetail.

In order thatvthe invention may clearly be understood, I will describein detail a specific container embodying it, a specific apparatus formaking the container, and a method of making the container. Thecontainer and ingFdrawings, in which ig. 1 is a perspective view of acontainer embodying the invention;

Fi z 2 is a broken perspective view showing the bottom and side walls atone corner of the container.

Fig. 3 is a transversesection of an apparatus for making the container,taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 5 but showing the position of the parts ofthe a paratus ready to begin the operation of ma ing a container;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the position of the parts of theapparatus when the container is partially formed;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsection of the apparatus taken on the line 5-5vof Fig. 3 but showing the position of the parts of the apparatus oncompletion of the forming or shaping of the container; and

Fig. 6 is a top view of the apparatus sectioned on the line 6-6 of Fig.5 and show- 7 ing the parts in the same position as in Fig. 5.

The container 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a piece of looselywoven fabric stretched and shaped to the form shown and having its warpand woof threads, or strands,

distorted from their normal perpendicular arrangement in the side walls11 and end walls 12 of the container at and near the corners thereof.strands of the side Walls 11 curve upwardl at each end of the side wallas they approach the corner 15 and pass around the corner and thenupwardly as vertical, or transverse, strands of the adjacent end wall tothe up- 'per edge of the container. Similarly, the horizontal strands ofeach end wall curve upwardly as they approach the corner and pass aroundthe corner and then extend upwardly in the adjacent side wall to theupper edge of the container. The vertical or transverse strands of thematerial in the end and side Walls extend in parallel relation in themiddle portions of the walls, but toward the end of each wall as thecorner is approached the vertical strands are inclined more and moreinward or away fromthe corner, the strands thus converging toward eachother at the edge of the wall at the top or open side of the container.This converging of the strands toward the upper edge of the side and endwalls at and near the corners is due to the greater number'of suchstrands in each end portion of each-wall at and near its upper edgeresulting from the presence there of the horizontal strands of theadjacent wall which have turned about the corner and become verticalstrands of such first mentioned wall. By such displacement of thethreads of the fabric from their The horizontal threads ornormalrelation the fabric may be formed invention which will not be suflicientto affect the character of the walls of the container as iubstantiallyof uniform thickness and lapess.

- The container shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be formed by means of theapparatus shown in Figs. 3 to 6. This apparatus comprises an upperexternal form 20 and a lower internal form 30 which are mounted on anyknown type of press in such manner that the external form may be forceddown over the internalform. The external form 20 is rectangular, asshown, having sharp corners 21 at the intersection of its sides, ends,and top.

It is shown as provided at its.to with a bar 22 by means of which it mayconnected to the upper member of a press.

The internal form has a top plate 31, and side plates 32 and end plates33 all mounted for movement with respect to the top plate. ;The baseframe 34 of the inter,- nal form is mounted on the lower member of apress. The top frame 31 is supported from the base plate by means ofbrackets 35, whichi-may be made integral with the top plate and baseframe as shown. The edges of the top plate 31 are beveled, and the upperedges of the side plates 32 and end plates 33 are also beveled so thatthey fit closely against the beveled ed es of the top plate.

Mechanism is provided for forcing the two side plates 32 and the two endplates 33 outwardly. In this construction shown, this mechanism includesa number of pairs of toggle levers 40, 41 pivotally connected-at,,-,their outer ends to the side plates 32 and having their inne'r'endspivotally connected to thrust bars 42 and 43, the outer ends of whichare connected directly to the end plates 33. The thrust bars 42, 43 maybe forced endwise apart by means of a pair of pivotally connected'levers 44 having short upper ends 45 connected to the inner ends of thethrust bars 42 and 43 and long lower ends pivotally connected to nuts 46and 47.

- These nuts are threaded in opposite directions and mounted oncorresponding threads on a shaft 48 which may be turned by means of ahandle 49 to move the nuts toward or away from each other according tothe directionin which the shaft is turned. When the nuts are movedtoward each other the levers 44 are operated to move the thrust barsendwise apart, thereby forcing the end plates 33 outward and alsooperating the toggle levers to force the side plates outward. Movementof the nuts apart operates the levers 44 to draw the thrust bars inward,thereby moving the end plates inward" and opera-ting the toggle leversto move the side plates inward. It is apparent that the apparatusdescribed provides means for thrusting the two side plates and the twoend plates apart with great force.

A rectangular frame 50 surrounds the internal form 30. This frame ismounted on the upper ends of rods 51. whose lower ends ass throughsleeves 52 secured in the base rame 34. Compression springs 53 urge theframe 50 upward so that it normally occupies the position shown in Fig.1.

Theoperation of making the container shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the aidof the apparatus described, is as follows :A piece 60 of loosely wovenfabric, best of several layers, is saturated with sizing and, whilestill moist, is placed over the top plate 31 of the internal form 30 inthe position shown in Fig. 3. The piece of fabric 60 is of such sizethat it extends beyond the edges of the top plate by a distance greaterthan the width of the side plates 32 and the end lates 33. The externalform 20 is then orced down, drawing the fabric over the upper portion ofthe internal form. When the external form has descended a shortdistance, the extending portions of the fabric are pressed between thelower edge of the form and the frame 50, as seen in Fig. 4. As thedownward motion of the upper frame continues, the extending portion ofthe fabric is drawn in between the lower edge of the upper form and theframe 50. As the fabric is drawn between these two parts, all folds orcreases are ironed out of it, so that it is flat and smooth when itcomes against the side and end plates of the lower form.

After the outer form 20 has been forced down to the position shown inFig. 5 in which it completely encloses the lower form and the portion ofthe material 60 forming the bottom of the container is pressed betweenplate 31 and the top plate of the outer form, the handle 49 is turned toforce the side plates 32 and the end plates 33 of the inner formoutwardly to compress the fabric between these plates and the sides andends of the outer form. The outward movement of these side plates andend plates is very slight-causing only a slight separation of the edgesof these plates, as will be evident from the drawings. Consequently, thefabric 60 is forced not only against the sides and ends of the upperform, but also into the corners between the sides and ends of the upperform. The side and end walls and the bottom of the container will thusbe positively pressed between 0 posed surfaces and a smooth or othersurface corresponding to the pressing surfaces will be given to thewalls of the container.

The steps above described complete the shaping of the container. Beforethe upper and lower forms are se arated and the container is removed,the sizing with which the fabric was impregnated is completely dried.The drying may be accelerated by heating the form, as, for example, bymeans of gas burners 54.

After the sizing is dried, the handle 49 is turned to move the sideplates and end plates of the lower form inwardly so as to loosen theirgrip upon the fabric, and the external form 20 is then raised and thecompleted container is removed.

It should be noted that the container thus made in the apparatus shownis rectangular in form. It has at its edge an external flange formed bythe portion of the fabric held under the lower edge of the external format the end of thedescent of this form. This flange may be trimmed downto any desired extent. en the container is to be used in making avalise, it is desirable to leave a tion in its broader aspect need notmeet at sharp angles as shown. The greatest difficulty, however, is inproducing the container with its side and end walls at right angles tothe bottom andwith the bottom and side and end walls meeting atapproximately sharp angles, and this is an important feature of theinvention.

In order to give the container the desired stren th, it is usuallyadvantageous to form the piece of fabric 60 from whlch it is made ofseveral layers. In the claims which follow, therefore, the expressioncontinuous piece of fabric should be understood to include a piececonsisting of one or more My ers in which each layer is continuous. Itwill be understood from the foregoing description that the piece offabric is not shaped in weaving, but is of any suitable flat wovenfabric, that is, that it is a piece of fabric adapted to be laid outflat as shown in Fig. 3.

What I claim is:

1. A seamless container consisting of a continuous piece of flat wovenfabric made of fibrous strands, impregnated with sizing, and deformedout of its plane of weave without lapping to provide a flat bottom walland flat side and end walls extending at right angles to the bottomwall, said walls being compressed and of substantially uni formthickness.

2. An impervious seamless'container consisting of a continuous piece ofa plurality of layers of flat woven fabric impregnated 5 and cementedtogether with sizing, said layers being deformed out of their plane ofweave without lapping to provide a flat bottom wall and flat side andend walls at right angles to the bottom wall, and said walls beingcompressed and of substantially uniform thickness.

3. A'seamless and lapless rectangular container formed of a continuouspiece of a plurality of layers of flat woven fabric impregnated andstiffened and cemented together with sizing, the container having abottom Wall and side and end walls extending at right angles to thebottom Wall and to each other and extending straight to make sharpangles, and said walls being compressed and of substantially uniformthick ness.

4. The method of making a seamless and lapless container, whichcomprises impregnating a continuous piece of fiat woven fabric withsizing, deforming the fabric out of its lane of weave. to provide a flatbottom wali and flat side and end walls extending at right angles to thebottom wall, and compressing the side and end Walls.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set' my hand.

. LESLIE STEVENS.

